The invention relates to the preservation of aqueous products such as liquid dishwash detergents, surfactants, and liquid soaps against microbial degradation. More specifically, the invention relates to the use of compositions comprising 2-n-octylisothiazolin-3-one, 5-chloro-2-methyl-4-isothiazolin-3-one and 2-methyl-4-isothiazolin-3-one for the preservation of materials susceptible to microbial degradation.
Materials containing organic material in aqueous solutions may be highly susceptible to attack from microorganisms. Materials such as liquid dishwash detergents, surfactants, liquid soaps, adhesives, metal working fluids, hand cleaners, paints, mineral slurries, polymer emulsions and shampoos are routinely formulated with antimicrobial agents to prevent the growth of putrifying microorganisms.
Numerous materials are known in the literature for use in preventing microbial growth in susceptible materials. Some example are found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,105,431 and 4,135,945 and in 4,725,611.